TACTICAL PREVIEW
Follow UsMumbai Indians (MI) vs Rajasthan Royals (RR) has always historically been one of the most entertaining clashes in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and this year it’s set to be no different. However, the two sides will enter the clash on April 1 (Monday) under contrasting circumstances.
Life’s good for Sanju Samson and Rajasthan Royals, who have won each of their first two games and are flying high in third spot. It’s a well-settled unit and the vibes, at this point, are impeccable.
In stark contrast, everything is uncharacteristically messy when it comes to Mumbai Indians. Two games in, Hardik Pandya has struggled to assert his authority as skipper, and he’s quite a distance away from winning over even his own fans.
Thus far, the opposition fans have treated him with hostility and the reception he’s been receiving has been one of the hot talking points this season. That’s partly due to his controversial switch, but things have been exacerbated by MI’s on-field showing, which has been close to dismal.
Two games in, the five-time champs are yet to get on the board, and, a few days ago, they suffered a painful hammering at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Will the comfort of home finally bring some joy to Pandya’s men, who have thus far looked a shadow of their usual selves?
MI vs RR Head-to-Head
Overall - Games 27 | MI 15 | RR 12
At Wankhede - Games 8 | MI 5 | RR 3
Venue and Condition Details
For the first time this season, the IPL caravan moves to Wankhede, which was the joint-best batting venue in the competition last season.
Wankhede has historically been a batter’s paradise and in IPL 2023, it was no different. The average first innings score here turned out to be 198. In the seven matches that were played at the venue, the 195-run mark was breached five times. Last season, only once did a team fail to score more than 160 batting first. 5/7 games were won by the team chasing, so it’s definitely a ‘bat second’ venue.
Wankhede is known to encourage pace, but, surprisingly, last season, spinners had a better average (28.8 vs 40.4), strike rate (19.7 vs 22.5) and economy rate (8.8 vs 10.8) than the pacers.
Weather Forecast
It’s scorching hot in Mumbai currently; there is zero threat of rain so we should get a full game. The temperature is expected to rise up to 33°C during the day, but it will be much cooler during the evening. Dew could hence play a significant part. All the more reason to chase.
Things to watch out for
Jos Buttler’s form
It’s not often that Jos Buttler’s form comes under the scanner, but the England skipper has been going through a torrid run in the IPL. He’s begun this season with scores of 11 & 11, but, dating back to last season, he’s managed a solitary fifty across his last 12 innings in the competition. During this period, he’s averaged 17.5 while having struck at 112.3.
RR’s middle-order has so far done the heavy-lifting this season, but Samson’s side need their star opener to come to the party.
The good news from RR”s perspective is that Buttler has a very good record at the Wankhede, which was formerly his home ground. He averages 35 at the venue while striking at 146. His last five scores at the venue read 18, 30, 22, 116, 13, 70*.
Will MI stick with Kwena Maphaka?
Four days ago, 17-year-old Kwena Maphaka became the youngest debutant in Mumbai Indians’ history but what was supposed to be a memorable night turned into a nightmare for the youngster, who ended up registering the worst figures for a debutant in IPL history. He conceded 0/66 off his four overs, and was taken apart by Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen in a brutal assault that led to SRH posting the highest total in IPL history.
It will be interesting to see MI’s response; what they do with Maphaka now. Do they stick with him, and back him to turn it around, and do they turn to Nuwan Thushara, who is more experienced and has been in red-hot form?
Or will they bring back Luke Wood, who according to skipper Pandya missed out against SRH due to a niggle?
Probable XIs
MI - Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir, Tilak Varma, Dewald Brevis (IP)* Hardik Pandya (c), Tim David, Gerald Coetzee, Shams Mulani, Piyush Chawla, Jasprit Bumrah, Kwena Maphaka / Luke Wood
RR - Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sandeep Sharma, Avesh Khan, Nandre Burger (IP)*
IP* - Impact Player
Telecast and Streaming Details
The match will be live on Star Sports Network and live-streamed on Jio Cinema. The game will start at 7.30 PM, with the toss happening at 7:00 PM.
